Women Participation in Labour Market

Gender & Economy-Lecture Three
A Lecture at Department of Conflict, Peace and
Development Studies, TU
‘Women Participation in Labour Market’
Date: 30/05/2016
Lecture By Keshab Giri

Last Lecture
 Meaning of the Terminologies
 Livelihood Strategies & Gender
 Gender and Labour Market
 Conclusion

Today’s Lecture
 Women in Labour Market in different Economic Ages
 Women in Labour Market: Overview and Characteristics
 Women in Labour Market in Asia, South Asia, and Nepal
 Women in Labour Market: Benefits and Costs
 Reasons behind lesser participation of Women in Labour Market and Ways to
Overcome them.
 Conclusion

Women in Labour Market in Different
Economic Ages
Agro-Economy
Industrial Economy
Service Economy
Knowledge Economy

Economic Ages
Agro-Economy
Industrial Economy
 Labour Codes, Definition of Work, Work
Environment Rules and Regulations, etc.
inscribed in this age.
 Men as breadwinners and Women as
housewives.
 Visible disadvantages on the part of women
for getting into Labour Force.

Economic Ages
Post-Industrial Service Economy
 Without a product, there wouldn’t be
service. All intertwined.
Less Physically arduous than Agricultural
and Industrial Work
Shift Work/Evening Work/Week-end Work
It was argued that many areas of service
industry such as health, education, etc. were
suitable to women given their nature.

Economic Ages
 Use of Brain than Brawn
Non-Standard Working Hours
 Spatial Flexibility
 But Job Insecurity?
 Male Outnumber Female in STI Education.
Even Lower levels of women in the skilled technology
workforce in the private sector (UNESCO, 2007)
 Women’s progression high level decision making
position/management position peters out in STEM/STI

Economic Ages
 Such Knowledge Divide is even worse in Developing
Countries (WISAT, 2012)
Despite similar abilities, less women graduates in STEM.
Female parity in the science, technology and
innovation fields is greater when women have greater
parity in countries with government policies that support
health and childcare, equal pay, and gender mainstreaming.
While women’s enrolment in bio and health-related
sciences is high in general, female representation drops
dramatically in physics and engineering, and in the
transition to the S&E workforce.

Women in Labour Market: Overview
 Higher Level of Women
Participation in East Asia, Nordic
Countries, Oceania, and East
African.
MENA and South Asia the worst
sub-regions for women to be
employed.
Level of Income and Women
Participation in Labour Market has
U-shape relationship (Duflo, 2012)

Women in Labour Market: Main Features
 3 Major Characteristics of Women in Work Force:
What are they?
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?

 3 Major Characteristics of
Women in Work Force:
Predominantly Unpaid Work
Even when they work, they are more
likely to work part-time compared to
men who mostly work full-time.

 The Worst Areas for Women at
‘Work’ are the ones that have very
high levels of Women in ‘Unpaid Work’
 Higher income countries and Middle
Income Countries most likely to have
women in paid employment.

 Unequal Pay : Wage gap in the World 23% (ILO, 2016), in OECD about 16%
(Ghazala Azmat, 2015). It will take another 70 years to fill the wage gap (ILO, 2016).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Pakistan India Bangladesh Sri Lanka Bhutan Nepal
GDP Per Capita for Women Compared
to Men in South Asia (Percentage)

 Unequal Pay : But in those conditions, Wage Gap could be aiding to economic
growth (Stephanie Seguino, 2000 & 2010)-
 Export Oriented Economy
 Semi-Industrialized Economy
 Labour Intensive Industries such as textiles, toys, etc.
“more tractable and subservient to managerial authority, less prone to organize into
unions, more willing to accept lower wages because of their own lower reservation
and aspiration wages, and easier to dismiss using life-cycle criteria such as marriage
and childbirth” (UNESCAP 2002, p. 94)

Sectoral and Occupational Segregation:
ILO Report, 2015 & 2016

Women in Labour Market in Asia
 Women as “Buffer Workforce”- both within labour markets and as flexible and
expanded workers, concentrated in informal jobs and within the household as
‘secondary earners’.
 Despite Asia being pivot of world economic recovery and growth after recession &
growing employment rate for women, not so rosy situation for women in terms of
quality of jobs.
 Different Sub-regions in Asia have different employment pattern for women.
 Despite strong employment rate for women in East Asia, lucrative jobs dominated by
men.

 Entrepreneurial Skills of Women largely
unexplored.
 No formal work arrangements, access to
benefits or social protection programmes and
more “at risk” to economic cycles.
As a result- “vulnerable”.
Such workers lack the social protection and
safety nets to guard against times of low
economic demand and often are incapable of
generating sufficient savings.
34
2.6
50.2
13.1
30.4
1
31.2
37.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Wage and Salaried
Worker
Employer Own-Account
Holder
Contributing
Family Worker
Percentage
Distribution of total employment by status in
employment, Asia, by sex,
2009
Male Female
Source: ILO, Trends econometric models, October 2010.

 Source: ILO, 2011
Compared to World, Asia has more share of
population at workforce with vulnerable
employment. It is worst for South Asia.
 Women constitute higher share of
vulnerable employment both in the World and
every sub-regions of Asia.
 Women in South Asia are the largest in
terms of women in vulnerable jobs.
Trend is same in both time periods.
53.5 60.2 66.2
81.1
51.8 55.7 62.5
78.1
56.8
65.7 71.3
88.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
World East Asia South East Asia and
The Pacific
South Asia
Vulnerable employment shares, Asia, by sex, 1999
(% of total
employment)
Aggregate Male Female
50.1 50.8
61.8
78.5
48.9 47.8
58.9
75.8
51.9 54.6
65.7
84.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
World East Asia South East Asia and
The Pacific
South Asia
Vulnerable employment shares, Asia, by sex, 2009
(% of total
employment)
Aggregate Male Female

 Agriculture:
Source: ILO, Trends econometric models,
October 2010.
Women are predominantly employed in
Agriculture (except developed
economies) followed by Services, for men
it is bit more diversified.
Agriculture is often the least well-covered
sector as far as national occupational
safety and health regulations are
concerned.
Women are the main producers of food
while men manage most of the
commercial crops (ILO, 2010).
48.2 50.3
3.9
41.5
75
43.7
71
18.2 15 15.3 22.2
4.5
14.4 13.6
33.6 34.7
80.8
36.3
20.5
41.9
15.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
Asia Pacific Central Asia Developed
Economies
in Asia
East Asia Pacific
Islands
South East
Asia
South Asia
Distribution of total employment (Female) by sector of
employment (%), Asia and
Sub-regions, by sex, 2009
Agriculture Industry Services
38.9
33.6
4.4
33.6
64.4
44.1 46.4
26.2 24.6
34.2 31.8
7
20.4 21.4
35
41.9
61.4
34.6
28.6
35.5 32.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Economies
in Asia
East Asia Pacific
Islands
South East
Asia
South Asia
Distribution of total employment (Male) by sector of employment
(%), Asia and

 Services:
 Source: ILO, Trends econometric
models, October 2010.
Women in Asia accounted for more than
50 per cent of the workforce in health
and social work, education, private
households, hotels and restaurants, and
financial intermediation.
 But they do not tend to hold upper
management position or higher ranks.
 For example, more nurses and less
doctors, less principles at schools, more
primary level teachers and less university
lecturers, less hotel managers, etc. (UN,
2010; ILO, 2009).
48.2 50.3
3.9
41.5
75
43.7
71
18.2 15 15.3 22.2
4.5
14.4 13.6
33.6 34.7
80.8
36.3
20.5
41.9
15.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
Economies
in Asia
East Asia Pacific
Islands
South East
Asia
South Asia
38.9
33.6
4.4
33.6
64.4
44.1 46.4
26.2 24.6
34.2 31.8
7
20.4 21.4
35
41.9
61.4
34.6
28.6
35.5 32.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Economies
in Asia
East Asia Pacific
Islands
South East
Asia
South Asia
(%), Asia and

Industry:
 Source: ILO, Trends econometric
models, October 2010.
 Feminization of Manufacturing: In
1990s, women dominated in export
oriented labour-intensive manufacturing in
many East Asian Countries (70-90%).
Why? “more tractable and subservient
to managerial authority, less prone to
organize into unions, more willing to
accept lower wages because of their own
lower reservation and aspiration wages,
and easier to dismiss using life-cycle
criteria such as marriage and childbirth”
(UNESCAP 2002,p. 94)
48.2 50.3
3.9
41.5
75
43.7
71
18.2 15 15.3 22.2
4.5
14.4 13.6
33.6 34.7
80.8
36.3
20.5
41.9
15.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
Economies
in Asia
East Asia Pacific
Islands
South East
Asia
South Asia
38.9
33.6
4.4
33.6
64.4
44.1 46.4
26.2 24.6
34.2 31.8
7
20.4 21.4
35
41.9
61.4
34.6
28.6
35.5 32.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Economies
in Asia
East Asia Pacific
Islands
South East
Asia
South Asia
(%), Asia and

 Informal Economy
 Except few developed counties, agriculture is
predominantly informal while non-agriculture sector
also employment also feature in bulk in IE (Heintz
2010, pp. 11-12). Also see the Quality of informal
employment (Chen, et
al, 2004)
 Source: ILO & ADB
(2011).
Country/Region Year Informal
Employment
as % of non-
agricultural
employment
Women’s Informal
Employment as
% of women’s
non-agricultural
employment
Men’s Informal
Employment as
% of men’s
non-agricultural
employment
Asia 1994/2000 65 65 65
Nepal 2008 86.4 91.8 83.8
India 2004/05 88.0 84.0
Bangladesh 2005 87.7 91.3 86.6

Women in Labour Market in South Asia

Women in Labour Market in Nepal
 Source: NRB & NCBS, 1998/99 &
2008 in ILO, 2014: Nepal Labour Market
Update.
Statistics here by and large correspond
to earlier analyses and findings.
 What were the results from earlier
researches?
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
 Why unemployment rate for Nepali
Women is low despite lower LFPR
compared to Nepali Men?
Key Labour Market Indicators for Nepal 1998/99 & 2008
Respectively
Labour Force
Participation
Rate (%)
Male 90.2 87.5
Female 81.9 80.1
Unemployment
Rate (%)
Male 2.0 2.2
Female 1.7 2.0
Employment in
Manufacturing
(%)
Male 7.7 8.5
Female 3.9 4.9
Employment in
Forestry and
Agriculture (%)
Male 66.8 62.1
Female 85.2 84.3
Share of paid
employees in
total
employment (%)
Male 24.3 26.7
Female 7.7 8.3

Women in Labour Market in Nepal
 Irrespective of the graph and
notwithstanding minute nuances, FLFPR in
South Asia is broadly similar.
Uniformity in Measurement in relation to
gender data is a big issue.

More Women in Labour Market: Results
 Macro & Micro Level:
 It is now well supported by evidences that gender equality in terms of greater Female participation in
Labour Market brings sustainable economic growth with “a positive spiral with cumulative effects”.
Read Klasen (1999, 2005); Dollar, David and Roberta Gatti (1999) among many others.
 Stephan Klasen (1999) gives three mechanisms through which gender equality influences economic
prosperity. What are they? Clues:
 Family mediated pathways…..?
 Market mediated pathway……?

More Women in Labour Market: Results
 Macro Level:
 Greater Participation of Women in Labour Market also
helps to offset shrinking population/ ageing population
(IMF, 2012, on Japan).
Doesn’t it seem paradoxical?
More working women might reduce fertility rate and might
contribute towards ageing population in future, isn’t it?
Wait, what we said in first lecture? Clue: France,
Denmark, UK, Sweden….?

Less Women in Labour Market: Costs
 Impact on Efficiency of Manpower due to Segregation:
 Market Distortion Effect (Klasen, 1999)
 Overcrowding Model
 Negative Feedback Loop & Greater Inequality: Further Deterred

Why Less Women at Work?
 Structural Factors
Socio-Cultural Factor
State Policies
Inequality in Education and Health
Inheritance and Ownership of Property/Land
Patriarchy

Why Less Women at Work?
 Feminist Perspectives
Essentialism and Difference Feminism
Liberal Feminism
Constructivism

What Could be Done to Bring more
Women in Labour Market?
 Contribute to the Discussion

 Fiscal Policies:
Tax Codes:
Individual Income Taxation in place of Family Income Taxation
Lenient Taxation when Women are the Breadwinner
Expenditure Measures:
Paid Maternity Leave and mandatory Paternity Leave
Subsidised Child Care Facilities, Read (Gong, Breunig, and King, 2010)
Longer maternity leave can have adverse effect on women’s skill development and professional
ascendency (Ruhm, 1998), so availability of flexible hours on return to work.

 Fiscal Policies:
Pension Reform: Special credit to women with
children, maternity leave doesn’t impact pension,
etc.
Women’s Education and Better Rural
Infrastructures:
Easy Access to Finance and Credit for Women:

 Policies on Women’s Labour
Reform Labour Codes:
 Working Hours
 Honour Reproductive Unpaid Works
Family Policies:
 Equal Division of Unpaid Work in Household

 Policies on Women’s Labour
Remove Legal Barriers for Women in Labour
Market: Such as Driving ban, ban on front-line
combat, etc.
Quota system could work as in India.
Not only formulate law and policies on gender
equality, educate men and women on those laws
Put it compulsorily on School/College/University
curricula.



Recap
 Women in Labour Market in different Economic Ages
 Women in Labour Market: Overview and Characteristics
 Women in Labour Market in Asia, South Asia, and Nepal
 Women in Labour Market: Benefits and Costs
 Reasons behind lesser participation of Women in Labour Market and Ways to
Overcome them.
 Conclusion

Conclusion
Although Service Economy holds immense potentials for Women, Women are lagging
behind
Women are employed predominantly in informal economy that has higher levels of
vulnerabilities and the least protection and returns.
 Even in formal economy, men enjoy the cream jobs.
 Situation in South Asia is worse and Nepal isn’t much different despite higher levels of
FLFPR.
 Government fiscal policies and other policies must be women employment friendly.

Selected Bibliography
• ILO (2016) Women at Work: Trends 2016. Geneva: ILO Office.
•Kelkar, Govind (2005) Development Effectiveness through Gender Mainstreaming:
Gender Equality and Poverty Reduction in South Asia. Economic and Political Weekly,
40(44/45), pp. 4690-4699.
•Kabeer, Naila (2016) Gender Equality, Economic Growth, and Women’s Agency: the
“Endless Variety” and “Monotonous Similarity” of Patriarchal Constraints. Feminist
Economists, 22(1), pp. 295-321.
• UN (2008) Women 2000 and Beyond. New York: United Nations- Division for the
Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
•Agarwal, Bina (1990) Social security and the family in rural India coping with
seasonality and calamity, Journal of Peasant Studies, 17(3), pp. 341–412.
•Kabeer, Naila (2015) Gender, Poverty, and Inequality: a brief history of feminist
contributions in the field of international development. Gender and Development, 23(2),
pp. 189-205.
•ILO and ADB (2011) Women and Labour Markets in Asia: Rebalancing towards Gender
Equality in Labour Markets in Asia. Bangkok: ILO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific
and ADB.

Selected Bibliography
 Elborgh-Woytek, K. et al, (2013) Women, Work, and the Economy: Macroeconomic
Gains from Gender Equity. IMF Staff Discussion Note. IMF
Dollar, David and Roberta Gatti (1999) Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are
Good Times Good for Women? World Bank Policy Research Report Working Paper
Series No. 1, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
IMF (2012) Country Report No. 12/208, Japan (Washington).
Heidi Gottfried, Karin Gottschall, Mari Osawa, Sylvia Walby, eds. Gendering the
Knowledge Economy: Comparative Perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
2007.
WISAT (2012) National Assessment on Gender Equality in the Knowledge Society:
Gender in Science, Technology and Innovation. Ontario: The Elsevier Foundation.
ILO (2016) Women at Work: Trends 2016. Geneva: ILO Office.

Question Time
Please introduce yourself before presenting your question.
Do try to make it brief and precise.

Next Lecture
Gender Division of Labour and New Skills in South Asia

Thank you
Thank you for your Patience!

Women Participation in Labour Market

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Women Participation in Labour Market

Similar to Women Participation in Labour Market (20)

Women Participation in Labour Market